baby indian ringneck parakeet

Question
hi charlotte
im doin my college degree stayin in india.last night, my cousin gifted me 2 baby indian ringneck

parakeet, i had always wanted one, but i had no idea tat he'd give me such a tiny baby.well im told

that the babies are around 20 days,but theses babys dont have feathers yet,not even the downy

growth(soft baby feathers) n they're bald..iv never seen baby birds so small.but they open thrir

eyes n look at me n can walk a bit or crawl with their body touchin the floor.its been just a day n

iv been looking all over the net to find out wat i should fed these bird.i went out lookin for baby

bird feed formula,but nobody here selling it.so what i have done is made a paste of chapati (indian

roti made out of wheat dough) and few flakes of cornflakes and bran flakes,mixed in water into a

thick paste and fed them both with a syringe (of 15-20ml i guess) afet every 3 hrs in the day...i

wonder if im doing this right..they r very loving n theyve got so much expression in their eyes,i

jus keep baby talkin to them..n they respond in some weird clucking (like kay kay kay kay.. is that

normal? )  they jus love sleepin in my palm.. i want to do things the right way so they stay

healthy..alredy love em so much..i really need some guidance..please help me..also tell me when they

will develop feathers..today i saw small specks of bright green on the tips of their wings..how much

do i feed them n  how many times? plz let me know..
thank you so much dear.
waitin for your reply.

love,
karyn

-----------------follow up---------------------------------



dear charlotte,
i didnt get a reply from you as yet. my baby parakeets are startin to get feathers at the tips of

their wings and one of them,its beak is getting redder. i have got to know that maybe they could be

around 4 to 5 weeks old. i have changed their diet, now im feeding then gram paste and at another

feed rice and pulses(dal) paste. i have kept a hot water bag wrapped in a cloth to give them

warmth.they r both very loving.but one of them is toooo noisy. even after his feed,when is crop is

so full, hes still very loud n noisy till i keep him babk in the box.i have noticed theres something

wrong with his leg too,he lifts it up n limps.usually when i feed him,he hols my finger wit his feet

but now wit the injured foot he jus leaves it loose n curls it. im really worried as theres no bird

vet in my area and i cant go too far as my graduation exams
are coming up in 2weeks.please help me wit some info.

thank u so much.
waiting for your reply.

karyn

Answer
Hi, Karyn,

I'm sorry Charlotte has not responded to your posts.  I don't know what's going on.  She sent your post to the question pool and I picked it up from there.  Evidently, she didn't know how to answer your questions.

If your baby Indian ringnecks are just now getting pin feathers, they are most likely only about 2-3 weeks old.  You shouldn't change a babies diet.  This can result in digestive upsets and make your babies ill.  Your babies actually need to be kept in a container of some sort that can maintain a constant temperature of 98 degrees F around the clock using a heating pad or some other device that you can leave on 24 hours per day.  They need warmth not only to keep them warm until they are fully feathered, but heat is needed so they can metabolize their food.  Otherwise, crop stasis can occur.  If their crops stop working, they don't get nutrition, they will lose weight, get sick, and could possibly die of malnutrition.  These babies need to be on baby parrot handfeeding formula or something just as nutritious.  Visit this website for more information:  www.drsfostersmith.com.  This is the type of handfeeding formula I have used successfully for 18 years:  http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+5729+5755&pcatid=5...  

You can order this yourself over the internet or get it at local pet stores.  If you live where this food is unavailable, order from the internet and/or read the label from the above link to see what makes up this food and try your very best to provide the same type of ingredients to feed your baby birds.  You can also try using human liquid nutritional supplements, such as Ensure Plus or Slim Fast, and mix in some human infant cereals/formula/strained foods in order to provide the nutrition these babies require.

Babies will "beg" for food from their human caretaker even when they are full.  This is just normal behavior.  Once you put them in their box they stop right?  This bird's "noisiness" is simply the way a baby bird begs to be fed.  I'll bet once you put the bird down and walk away, the begging stops?  A baby parrot will beg like this even when it hears your voice because they associate you (the person feeding them) as their "parent" and to food.  You need to get better/more nutrition into these babies and keep them warm enough 24 hours per day.

Chrys